Volgograd Oblast
Volgograd Oblast (russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть, ''Volgogradskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region of Southern Russia. Its administrative center is Volgograd. The populat ...
(formerly Stalingrad). The club will play in the third-tier Russian Football National League 2 in the 2022–23 season. They are the largest and best supported Volgograd club and for most of their existence have been the city's only representatives in the national league system.
They played at the top level of Soviet/Russian football either side of World War II, from 1989 to 1990, from 1991 to 2004 and in the 2020—21 season. During the 1990s they were one of the strongest clubs in newly independent Russia and qualified for European competition four times. In recent years financial and ownership difficulties have repeatedly threatened their professional status and they have played mostly in lower regional leagues.
The team currently plays its home games at the
Volgograd Arena
The Volgograd Arena (russian: «Волгоград Арена») is a football stadium in Volgograd, Russia. The stadium was one of the venues for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It also hosts FC Rotor Volgograd. It has a capacity of 45,568 spectators.
...
since 2018.
History
Both the current team name and the former name "Traktor" are references to the Stalingrad Tractor Factory, once a major producer of tractors, and the scene of heavy fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II.
Soviet era
The creation of a Russian national football pyramid immediately prior to World War II propelled Traktor Stalingrad to national prominence. Traktor were champions of the new fourth-level Group G in 1937, and were then promoted straight to the highest-level Group A as it expanded from 9 clubs to 26. They remained at the top level until 1950.
Rotor then spent three decades at the top regional level, although the creation of the Supreme League in 1970 pushed their league from the second level overall down to the third. They gradually improved throughout the 1970s and finally won Zone III of the Soviet Second League (the third tier) in 1980 and 1981, and were successful in the promotion playoffs the second time.
In 1988 Rotor finished second in the
Soviet First League
The Soviet First League in football (russian: Первая лига СССР по футболу) was the second highest division of Soviet football,Evgeni Kazakov. The Soviet First Football League (Первая лига СССР по футбо ...
, earning promotion to the
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
. They finished 13th and last in the downsized 1990 competition after the Georgian and Lithuanian teams withdrew, and the decision was made to relegate them. However they bounced straight back as champions of the First League in 1991, thus becoming founder members of the new
Russian Top Division
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
after the USSR collapsed.
Top Division/Premier League and Europe
In the mid-1990s, Rotor was one of the strongest clubs in Russia, rivalling
Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia:
* FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club
* HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team
* Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club
* WB ...
for the championship, yet never winning it. Rotor became the league runners-up in 1993 and 1997.
Rotor played five successive seasons in European competition, from 1994–95 to 1998–99. They qualified for the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
through their league position every year except 1996–97, when they instead chose to enter the
Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foo ...
. Unfortunately for Rotor, the fall of communism had left all the former Eastern Bloc leagues badly under-resourced compared to their Western counterparts, and indeed Rotor were knocked out by all four of the French and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
clubs they played. The exception came against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
's Manchester United in 1995–96. Having drawn the home leg 0–0, Rotor raced into a 2–0 lead at Old Trafford before United scored their first goal. Rotor were seconds away from being the first European club to win at Old Trafford when United's
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Peter Schmeichel
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
scored a famous equaliser, but the 2–2 draw meant Rotor progressed by the away goals rule. They went on to be defeated by eventual Runners-up
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
in the second round.
Full European results:
* QR: Qualifying round
In the 2000s, Rotor's results declined, and in 2004, the team finished last in the
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
. The club's owner Vladimir Goryunov, a member of the
Duma
A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions.
The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...
and head of the parliamentary sports committee, explored options to save Rotor from relegation, such as expanding the Premier League to 20 teams. But in January 2005 Rotor were unable to make the required financial guarantees and so lost their professional licence entirely.
2005–2014: Financial troubles and decline
Rotor's reserve side in the
Russian Second Division
The Russian Second League (russian: Первенство России II дивизиона ФНЛ), formerly Russian Professional Football League is the third level of Russian professional football.
History
In 1998–2010, it was run by the Pr ...
, Rotor-2 Volgograd, became the club's first team and was renamed Rotor in 2006. In 2007 local businessman Oleg Mikheev acquired the club's main asset the Volgograd Central Stadium, and with it effective control over the club, but financial troubles continued and the team's performances in the Second Division declined.
Matters came to a head in 2009. Russia had officially launched its bid for the
FIFA World Cup 2018
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting right ...
and Volgograd city was in line for a new stadium - provided they had a professional club to fill it after the tournament. Rotor, facing legal action and a transfer embargo due to their financial status, were not reliable candidates. The government created a new entity, FC Volgograd, intending to assume the Rotor name. In fact, Rotor managed to co-exist with the new FC for the first half of the 2009 season, before Mikheev suspended operations and the government took ownership of the club and stadium from him. The two clubs were merged into one, and the new Rotor Volgograd were promoted to the second-level
Russian Football National League
The Russian First League (russian: Первая лига, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division (russian: Первый дивизион) and Russian Football National League (FNL) (russian: Первенство Футбольн ...
thanks to teams above them withdrawing.
The regional Ministry of Sport invested 150 million roubles ($4.9m) in the club's playing budget for the 2010 campaign, but it ended in failure as Rotor were relegated in 17th place. Governor Brovko admitted that the transition to the higher level was made too quickly. Former club player Sergei Nechay took over management and steered the team to promotion as champions of their Second Division zone in 2011–12. This time they were able to consolidate in the National League, finishing 9th and then 14th.
But financial troubles continued. A Ministry of Sport investigation found evidence of financial misconduct by club management along with substantial overspending, and regional Governor Andrey Bocharov announced after the 2013 season that government support for Rotor was being withdrawn. The club dropped back into the Second Division (renamed the Professional Football League) for the first half of the 2014–15 (autumn-spring) season, then withdrew in order to immediately transfer to the 2015 (spring-autumn)
Russian Amateur Football League
Russian championship among amateur football clubs (III division) (russian: Первенство России среди любительских футбольных клубов (III дивизион)) is the fourth overall tier of the Russian f ...
, the fourth level overall.
2015–present: Revival and a new decline
In the 2015 season Rotor won the Amateur League Chernozemye (South-West Region) division at the first attempt by 11 points, suffering only one defeat in 22 games. The 45,000-seater Pobeda Stadium is under construction on their old Central Stadium site, and it was reported in August 2015 that the first team are still interested in moving into the facility after the 2018 World Cup, which makes attaining a higher league status a priority. They were licensed for third-tier Russian Professional Football League for the 2016–17 season. They won their zone of the PFL in the 2016–17 season and were promoted to the second-level
Russian National Football League
The Russian First League (russian: Первая лига, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division (russian: Первый дивизион) and Russian Football National League (FNL) (russian: Первенство Футбольн ...
for 2017–18.
Despite ending the 2017–18 season in the relegation zone, the club stayed in the league for the 2018–19 season as another team that finished above them in the table failed to obtain the league license.
On 15 May 2020, FNL season was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
The COVID-19 pandemic in Russia is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ().
The virus was confirmed to have spread to Russia on 31 January 2020, when two Ch ...
. As Rotor was in the 1st position in the standings, they were promoted to the
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
for the 2020–21 season, returning to the top level after a 16-year break.
In the 2020–21 Russian Premier League season, Rotor only was able to score 15 goals in 30 games, and finished in 15th place, leading to relegation back to FNL after one season in the top tier. They also were awarded two losses due to a
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
/
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
(first tier)
**Runners-up: 2 (1993, 1997)
*
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
/
Russian First League
The Russian First League (russian: Первая лига, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division (russian: Первый дивизион) and Russian Football National League (FNL) (russian: Первенство Футбольн ...
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
/
Russian Second League
The Russian Second League (russian: Первенство России II дивизиона ФНЛ), formerly Russian Professional Football League is the third level of Russian professional football.
History
In 1998–2010, it was run by the P ...
Soviet Second League B
The Soviet Second League B or Soviet Lower Second League was an auxiliary fourth tier of the Soviet league system, because it was not consistent as it existed only for six seasons and somewhat randomly. It was the fourth highest division of Soviet ...
/
Russian Amateur Football League
Russian championship among amateur football clubs (III division) (russian: Первенство России среди любительских футбольных клубов (III дивизион)) is the fourth overall tier of the Russian f ...
King's Cup
__NOTOC__
King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to:
Sports Football
* Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football
* King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...
Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Rotor.
;Russia/USSR
* Anatoli Zinchenko
* Oleg Sergeyev
*
Aleksandr Ponomarev
Oleksandr Ponomariov (Russian: Александр Семёнович Пономарёв; ua, Олександр Семенович Пономарьов 23 April 1918 – 7 June 1973) was a Soviet Ukrainian football player and manager.
Ca ...
Igor Lediakhov
Igor Anatolyevich Lediakhov (russian: Игорь Анатольевич Ледяхов; born 22 May 1968) is a Russian football coach and a former player who played as an attacking midfielder.
He played for almost a decade in Spain, mainly for ...
Albert Borzenkov
Albert Valentinovich Borzenkov (russian: Альберт Валентинович Борзенков; born 3 January 1973) is a Russian football coach and a former player.
Honours
* Russian Premier League runner-up: 1997.
* Russian Premier L ...
*
Maksim Buznikin
Maksim Buznikin (born 1 March 1977) is former Russia international forward or attacking midfielder. Buznikin spent his prime years playing for Spartak Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow. In 2005 Buznikin was chosen Rostov's footballer of the year.
H ...
*
Andrei Chichkin
Andrei Grigoryevich Chickin (russian: Андрей Григорьевич Чичкин; born 12 October 1977) is a Russian football coach and a former player. He played as a goalkeeper. He works as goalkeeping coach with FC Mordovia Saransk.
In ...
Yevgeni Makeyev
Yevgeni Vladimirovich Makeyev or Evgeniy Makeev (; born 24 July 1989) is a Russian association football player plays as a left-back or centre-back for Veles Moscow.
Club career
He made his debut in the Russian Premier League on 15 March 2009 ...
Roman Pavlyuchenko
Roman Anatolyevich Pavlyuchenko (russian: Роман Анатольевич Павлюченко; born 15 December 1981) is a Russian former footballer who played as a striker.
He started his career at Dynamo Stavropol, and Rotor Volgograd, be ...
*
Aleksei Rebko
Aleksei Vasilyevich Rebko (russian: Алексей Васильевич Ребко; born 23 April 1986) is a Russian association football coach and a former midfielder. He is an assistant manager with Fakel Voronezh.
Career
He broke the record ...
*
Aleksandr Shmarko
Aleksandr Nikolayevich Shmarko (russian: Александр Николаевич Шмарко; born 12 March 1969) is a retired Soviet and Russian football player.
Honours
* Russian Premier League runner-up: 1993, 1997.
* Russian Premier Leagu ...
Khoren Bayramyan
Khoren Robertovich Bayramyan ( hy, Խորեն Ռոբերտի Բայրամյան; russian: Хорен Робертович Байрамян; born 7 January 1992) is an Armenian professional Association football, footballer who plays for FC Rosto ...
Andrei Kovalenko
Andrei Nikolaevich Kovalenko (russian: Андрей Николаевич Коваленко; born June 7, 1970) is a Russian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Aval ...
Dzmitry Rawneyka
Dzmitry Vasilevich Rawneyka ( be, Дзмітрый Васiлевiч Раўнейка; russian: Дмитрий Васильевич Ровнейко; born 13 May 1980) is a former Belarusian professional footballer. He is currently a part of th ...
Yuri Aksenov
Yuri Aleksandrovich Aksenov (russian: Юрий Александрович Аксёнов; born 11 August 1973) is a former Kazakhstani professional footballer.
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He made his professional debut in the Soviet Second League in 1990 for FC Te ...
Andrei Miroshnichenko
Andrei Gennadyevich Miroshnichenko (russian: Андрей Геннадьевич Мирошниченко; born 21 December 1968) is a Kazakhstani professional football coach and a former player. He is a technical director with FC Tobol.
Club ...
Essau Kanyenda
Essau Black-Mamba Kanyenda (born 27 September 1982) is a former Malawian international footballer who played as a striker.
Career
Kanyenda started his career in 1998 in Malawi's First Division for FC Welfare in Dwangwa. He was spotted by Jom ...
Andrei Manannikov
Andrei Ivanovich Manannikov (russian: Андрей Иванович Мананников; born 5 August 1965) is a Tajikistani professional football coach and a former player.
Club career
Manannikov made his professional debut in the Soviet Fi ...
;Ukraine
*
Yuri Hudymenko
Yuriy Arkadiyovych Hudymenko ( uk, Юрій Аркадійович Гудименко; born 10 March 1966) is a former Kyrgyz-born Ukrainian professional footballer.
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Hennadiy Orbu
Hennadiy Hryhorovych Orbu ( uk, Геннадій Григорович Орбу; born 23 July 1970) is a Ukrainian retired professional footballer. He made his professional debut in the Ukrainian Premier League in 1991 for Shakhtar Donetsk. He p ...
Vitaliy Denisov
Vitaliy Gennadyevich Denisov (; born 23 February 1987) is an Uzbek professional footballer of Belarusian origin, who plays as a left-back for Sogdiana Jizzakh. He is a former member of the Uzbekistan national football team.
He is the son of ...